Snips: Birth of a Pilot
by Snipthewolf
Summary: Enter Ryan, a normal young man living in the barren deserts of the American south-west, as he suffers death and revival, although when he awakes things are very different. But he will persevere as he discovers he isn't alone in this strange world, friends both old and new will help him along the way as he begins to find a reason to live in this strange new world. (on hold for now.)
1. Prolouge

Prologue

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The sun blazed down on the concrete in front of me, just a normal day in the desert. I'm Ryan, though some people have started calling me Snip. Not sure why they chose it, but it's started growing on me, oh well. It's strange I normally don't like walking around during the day, the desert sun is anything but merciful at this time, but something's different, whatever. It has made me start walking, so I'll see this through. Heck I could use some sun, it may sound strange, but me and a lot of other teens my age don't like to be outside, and because of this I spend most of my time inside on the computer. oh well. suddenly I heard my stomach growl and realized just how hungry I really am. "hm.. I could go for some chips." so I turned the corner and walked into the gas station. after a few minutes I found what I was looking for. "here you go.. two bags of chips and a Coke." I put them on the counter and was in the process of taking out my wallet, when the guy behind me said something that froze the blood in my veins. "Alright no-one move, this is a robbery!" then I saw it, he had a gun. right as I noticed it some poor soul tried to run for the door. "Hey!" I saw the robber raise his hand, the poor guy never had a chance. this is bad, if I don't do anything maybe I'll be alright, but then again maybe not. I snuck a look behind me and saw he had the gun by his side, and right behind me. well if I get the gun, they may have a chance. so I took a deep breath and threw myself backwards. "What the h-" He obviously wasn't prepared for me to hit him. so I took a chance and kicked the gun away. "Ha sorry, maybe you should hold stuff a little tighter." I turned to run, but before I could I slipped. That's when I realized something I should have earlier. why would a robber try this alone? I thought about this as I got on my knee's, then heard something that stopped me cold. 'Click' as soon as I heard it, I fell. I could tell it was bad, there was blood, too much blood. then I looked up, and saw him, his mask, the gun and a flash. then all I saw was black, black and cold...


	2. Chapter 1 (From worst to best)

Chapter 1.

_**Note: I do not own any songs or lyrics of Sabaton, though i consider them a great band. Sonic is the property of SEGA, i own nothing other than original content, and my characters of course.**_

I tried to open my eyes, err.. big mistake on my part. I tried again, this time I tried slowly. my head hurt worse than anything else. but something felt wrong, I looked around. what I saw shocked me, no matter where I looked was sand, sand and more sand. "huh, guess it could be worse, then i noticed my clothes were missing. "wh-what the!" I looked around frantically, scared of what might have happened. could it have been a rape? strange but at this point i don't know, then I remembered a way to tell and looked at my wrist. "hm.. no bruises, guess I-" I trailed off when I looked at my arm again, where there Should have been pink, smooth skin, there was hair. then I realized it wasn't just my arm, but my legs, my chest, my whole body. "okay don't freak out Ryan, this is just a prank. someone's just screwing with me." then I felt something, and i looked behind me. "huh.. I could have sworn-" I felt it again. i looked over my shoulder and almost fainted, i had a tail. no, I had two. Two bushy red tails, with white at the end of both. "okay.. this can't be real i-" some wind blew sand in my eyes, making my burn a bit. okay, this is real. but what happened, how did i get here... where am I? The endless desert stretched out in all directions, each seeming to end in dunes. if there was a way out of this desert I'd have to find it, otherwise I may as well just lay down and die. something was telling me that I should follow the sun, not sure why but I really don't have many other options. so I set off along the dunes.

* * *

I've walked in this sand trap for around three hours or so at least. man, what I wouldn't do for a drink about now. "I just got to keep walking, wait, what's that." it was hard to see, but I could see it. it looked like a big tent, and where there's a tent, there should be people with water! just the thought that i could find someone there to help me was enough to get me moving. "alright I made i-" what I saw stopped the words cold. all around me were the sign's of battle, someone was fighting here. but who, and why? "hm.." I walked over to the ten and pulled open the flap, it seemed like a barracks of sorts. so I walked in and took a look around, eventually finding some nice new Camo uniforms. "well, this will do nicely." I said as I slipped on some BDU pants, a T-shirt, and some good-looking steel-toe boots. I guess no-one will miss them at least. when I put my hands in the pockets I felt something in there, it felt like metal, so i pulled out my hand, and sitting on a small gold key ring, was the key for a jeep. "lets see, which one is this for?" I clicked down on the remote, waiting for the alarm. when I heard it I knew I would make it. so loaded up what i could, and took some gear. a beat-up old sniper rifle. and a nice looking pistol in a leather holster, so I slung the rifle over my back and strapped the holster to my thigh. then I wrapped my head in a bit of cloth to keep sand from hurting my ears and nose, then finally I hopped in the jeep, and took off down the old sandy path.

Eventually i began seeing more signs of civilization, an abandoned shack here, a battered road sign there, and the cracked sand seemed to give way to worn, cracked asphalt. i decided to stop after a while and take count of everything i had, so i turned off the ancient highway and pulled into an equally described rest stop. From the look of the area, no-ones been out this way in months, maybe even years. what could have caused these places to just fall apart, did the people just die off, and if so how did they die. I frowned at the thought, thinking back to the cross desert drive, I hadn't seen any bones, and even after i got to the Highway itself. in both cases, there seemed to be no evidence of an evacuation. in fact, it seems like everyone just left nearly everything. oh well, guess I'll check for something I can use. Nearly fifteen minutes later I was finishing throwing out my back as I dragged the battered trailer out of the partly collapsed rest stop garage. it was remarkably well-preserved, unlike most of the other things around here, it still had some of its original paint, and its tires remained intact as i began attaching it to the back of the jeep. within minutes I had the trailer hooked up, and the boxes of supplies (mainly bottled waters, canned foods, and beef jerky.) out and stacked by the trailer.

* * *

I decided to call it a day as I spotted the sun just cresting the horizon, so I went to the jeep and pulled out one of the tents I had found at the old base and got to work setting it up. after I swapped out of my combat clothes, I slipped on a pair of PT clothes I had found along side the camo's, fortunately they seemed like they were brand new so i didn't hesitate to put them on, without warning my body began to hurt, betraying my severe fatigue. so I crawled over onto the sleeping bag and almost immediately passed out.

* * *

I felt cold, strange I was sure I left the fan off, and why does my bed feel so hard its like I'm sleeping on the ground. in an instant my eyes flew open and I remembered I wasn't in my house, I was in an old military style tent I had put up, as night had approached. at first I was depressed by the thought of never seeing anyone I cared for again, only to be replaced by the happiness I had for somehow being alive, and lucky enough to gather up so many things, kind of made me feel like a hoarder but that didn't matter, I was just rolling up my sleeping bag when I noticed a cardboard box by the entrance to the tent. I didn't put that there. I almost by nature, ripped my M9 from the holster, scanning the tent. okay nothing in here with me, now for the outside. I took a step towards the door, then did a full-blown dive out through the flaps, swinging the handgun from side to side. Clear. so I stood up and holstered the M9, before glancing back at the box and noting the name it was sent to. "To: Ryan "Snip" Hall. From: a mutual friend." to me, but why? and who is this friend? well guess whatever's in the box belongs to me, so lets see. I pulled the cardboard apart and looked down at the small black rectangle lying in the foam peanuts, my Kindle from earth, and my headphones too. how the hell did this person get them? I shook my head, I should just be glad I got this and leave it at that. so as I loaded up the tent, and hopped into the jeep, I plugged the Kindle into the jeeps Music system and began one of my favorite songs, "**_In the sky's above the isle, Aces in Exile_ prevail!** grinning as I shoved my foot on the gas, I blew down the road yet again, the songs lyrics echoing far ahead of me.

Things had definitely taken a turn for the better, I've got a jeep, clothes, food, water, shelter, and my favorite music. I couldn't be happier with how the day had gone. As I glanced into the rear view mirror, I got my first look at my face, I had a whitish muzzle with a black nose, and Sea blue eyes. to be honest, I actually looked pretty good, for a fox anyway. made it another forty miles, and I've only been driving for around ten minutes or so, although now that I think about it. who could have snuck up on me and leave me that package, and more importantly, what happened to me? I remember everything that happened, even the bullet. I shuddered at the memory of the round going through my skull. I shook my head, trying to forget it, but instead it brought up memories of my mom, my brother, hell even my dad. why? the thoughts crossed my mind more than once as I continued along the old highway, before finally seeing something ahead that set me off, green. unless my eyes were deceiving me I was finally driving across grasslands, with sand becoming less and less visible every minute until finally I just was unable to see sand, and not even five minutes had passed when I finally entered a sparse forest..

* * *

However, as the fox continued on into the line of tree's, he was unaware of the pair of eyes that seemed to gleam with a madness one could only imagine shining behind the Blue lenses of the bald mans glasses. quickly he pressed a few buttons and watched the fox continue driving, all the while grinning wider until he looked like a cracked egg, his brownish mustache bursting out from the sides of his lip.


	3. Chapter 2 (A day in the Woods)

Chapter 2.

I looked down at the Jeep's built-in clock and read the time again. When I had entered this dense section of the forest, it seemed like it wanted to overgrow onto the road, as I constantly dodged small roots bulging out from the cracked pavement, and here I am thirty minutes later with still nothing to show for it. I was almost ready to try my luck off road,. when I spotted a thin trail of smoke in the sky. it seemed strange at first. I realized it might signal others, maybe even someone who knows where I am exactly. I pulled off the road, noting that it appeared to be coming from the chimney of a small house. I stopped the Jeep and hopped out, taking a few cautious steps before I began walking toward the building. As I got closer, I noticed a few things; one was the color of the house, a darkish brown with a red sloped roof, speaking of untold snowstorms laying their blankets on there, but most important was the 'Welcome' mat in front of the door, so I took a step forward and knocked. It took some time, but eventually the door was opened by a female cherry red fox. She seemed to be wearing some kind of tan pants with a matching long sleeve shirt. She appeared to study me for a moment with piercing amber eyes. She suddenly struck without warning.

My vision was blurred, it was almost impossible to focus. but slowly I regained my senses, and when I turned my head, there she was. Strange how she can make an attack seem elegant, artistic. she had kicked me a good four feet and was standing over me, her fists raised in some kind of battle pose. If she hadn't nearly knocked me out, I would have laughed. So I just stared, not daring to move lest she take it as me going for a weapon. She just glared at me, so I slowly raised my hands, showing I wasn't going to try to harm her. She just looked at me with a bitter anger and, something else. Neither of us spoke for a solid minute before I asked, "Uh was this a bad time?" slightly grinning under my mask. She just stared at me, confusion and irritation clouding her gaze; so I continued. "Listen I didn't mean to bother you b-" I never finished as she cut me off. "Well that's a lie if I've ever heard one!" she snapped, taking me by surprise. I tried to move back as she lept, but as I did her hand caught on my cloth mask. I heard her cry out in triumph as she aimed her fist at my now exposed face, but her roar of anger was cut short as an explosion threw us both off our feet away. When I turned to see what had caused the blast I was shocked to say the least.

Where there had once been a quaint little house nestled in the tree, was a burning inferno. I glanced skyward and spotted the cause of the destruction in the shape of a group of smoke trails. Someone had fired missiles at us, but why, and who? I didn't have time to think it over as I started for my Jeep, but stopped abruptly when I remembered that other fox. I looked back and saw her laying on her side unmoving. I rushed to her side as quick as I could hoping she was alive, not just because I needed her to tell me where I was, but also because I didn't want to see her get hurt for some strange reason. So when I saw the slight rise and fall of her chest, I let out a sigh of relief. I grabbed her by the arms and dragged her form, pulling it over my shoulder. I took another look back at the house, or what had been the house, the missile payload having turned it into a blackened shell of smoldering rubble,so I centered her weight and took off down the path to my Jeep.

As I reached the cover of the tree line, the second missile hit the ground just a few meters behind me, so close I could feel the micro shrapnel dig into my skin, and the heat singe some of the fur on my tails, but I kept running, never looking back until I had the Jeep in site. I ran around to the passenger side door and dropped her into the seat, slamming the door. I started dashing around to the other side of the 4x4 . Glancing skyward once again, I caught site of a strange looking aircraft, but even stranger was the being in the craft itself. At first glance he appeared to be a normal man, but after taking a few seconds to examine him, I saw an extraordinarily large mustache, his bald head, and his strangely egg-like figure. He looked like something out of an old cartoon. What he was doing, however, was anything but; for when he looked at me, a strangely horrid grin lit his face as he appeared to press another button inside the craft. As soon as he did, I heard the sound of metal striking concrete, and a strange slivery being stepped onto the road behind the jeep.

As it took a step forward, I hopped into the idling 4x4 and slammed my foot on the gas. I almost lost control instantly as my head struck the headrest on the seat. I glanced at the rear view mirror, and sat in silent shock as I saw the strange being catching up with the speeding Jeep. I looked at the 4x4's speedometer and noted I was only going around thirty miles an hour, so I put more pressure on the pedal, letting out a breath I had been subconsciously holding. That's when I heard it. At first I thought some fighter pilot was blowing past, but when I looked behind the Jeep the second time, I saw the same silverish being blasting towards us with a trail of flame and smoke following it. I almost panicked, but managed to control myself and increased the Jeep's speed. Thankfully the road seemed to just be a straight path that never ended, that was of course until I saw the bridge.

When I saw the bridge I noted the large sign on the side facing us, "Mobotropolis limits, one mile." whatever this Mobo- whatever was, it was obviously inhabited as I saw several animals in some kind of military uniform dive out of the way as we barreled across the bridge with that silver menace in pursuit. I just had to keep driving. If we made it to a populated area we might be able to find help. Suddenly I heard, - no felt something flash by the jeep and slam into the strange silver thing. The new guy seemed to look a lot like the silver marauder. the difference was that the new arrival was blue with peach mixed in on his body, while his white eyes shone with excitement. The other one, however, was a bright silvery chrome, and its black and red eyes showed nothing but pain for us, so I simply hoped they wouldn't hurt me or the she-fox, and just kept driving until I saw the city, and to be honest, it was pretty hard to miss...


	4. Chapter 3 (A chance Encounter)

Chapter 3.

* * *

As I gazed out at the city, I felt a cool splatter of liquid on my muzzle, I glanced up at the dark looking clouds only to flinch as another drop of rain landed in my eye. If I can make it to that city, I might be able to find someplace dry. I might be safe. But most importantly, I might find a hospital, because that she-fox I dragged from the battle (I guess it was more of target practice really), had yet to wake up. Any number of things could have happened, but there was too much at stake now to stop thinking on anything but getting to the city. I glanced back at my rear view mirror. Suddenly anxious to know how the fight was going, from the look of it the stranger was matching the silver thing blow for blow, neither seemed to want to give up. I'd let them fight it out, I have a job to do, and that job is keeping the strange cherry red fox alive.

The jeep bounced as I came down the hill, but just as the city gate came in sight, a thundering roar shook me to the bone as I felt the seat, the roof, then air,as I went flying from the now totaled jeep. I managed to somewhat stick the landing, and looked up to try to spot my new attacker. It wasn't that hard. The air-filled with a screeching sound as a missile flew right past me. I hit the dirt and glanced up after the smoke trail the rocket had left. Suddenly another screeching noise assaulted my ears, and I glanced up to see a strange-looking machine hovering almost right above me. All of a sudden it made a lower toned screech and bullets seemed to just fly at me in a literal rain of lead. I turned and ran as fast as I could, just managing to jump into a roadside ditch as the angry red rounds slammed into the dirt around me. Then suddenly it stopped.

I peered over the lip of the ditch just in time to see the machine fly forward and slam into the dirt, digging a deep trench as it seemed to just shut down. "What just happened?" I asked aloud, and suddenly shockingly familiar voice replied. "Scratch another Egg drone!" I whipped around knowing only one boy with that voice. "Jon, is that you!" I yelled out at the figure approaching through the dust cloud the 'Egg Drone' had caused when it crashed. "Yea, who wants to know?" the figure said as the dust cleared enough for me to see him, he was actually better looking than I expected. He had the same fur color as me, but with some of the fur on the crown of his head bleached yellow, he also had twin tails, but they didn't bear white on the tips like mine, his had the same bleached yellow as his head, but what got me most was what he was wearing. At first glance it seemed like he just had some kind of white and grey camo pants and jacket, but when I took the time to look at it, I noticed that he also had some kind of computer in his hands, and at his hip was a nasty looking submachine gun.

I just took a breath and said. "Its me, Ryan." a few seconds passed with neither of us speaking, but I could tell from his eyes that he was unsure, so I reached into my backpack and pulled out my Kindle, saying. "I guess this says more than I can." I managed before clicking play on the screen. over the speakers the sound of synchronized boot steps flew ahead of me, followed me a man yelling out orders in Russian, the Hell March. that managed to get a reaction from him. I saw tears streaming down from his eyes, he must have been devastated when I died, wait. "Jon, how did you get here?" I asked looking at him with both concern and happiness. He just looked away, he had stopped crying and instead had a look of almost pure rage on his face. "After we found out you were dead we cried, knowing we'd never see you again, but the next day when we went to school.." he trailed off as he caught my eyes. "Jon, what happened?" my voice taking on a serious tone, he sighed and continued. "We were in class when a group of men ran in, they said if we did anything we'd be killed, we were killed." he ended, his body visibly shaking, I ran over and put my arm around his shoulder. "Hey come on, we'll talk about it later, okay." He wiped his eyes on his sleeve before glancing up at me. "Alright, so now what?" he asked looking at me. "We need to get the she-fox out of my wrecked jeep, she needs medical attention now." I said in an almost frightened tone, barely keeping my voice from cracking. Jon nodded as we rushed over to the remains of my jeep.

When the drone had shot the rocket, it managed to flip us twice, so when we got to the passenger side, I feared for the worst. Fortunately it seemed she had been safely strapped in when the 4x4 flipped. I guess I did it when we got in the jeep after the attack, strange. I thought about it for a moment when I heard her moan, she was alive. I glanced over at Jon who had already gotten the straps off her and was just getting her through the shattered window. He managed to lift her up, barely able to hold her weight when I took hold of her other side, balancing it out. I glanced over and saw him give me a thankful nod before we began stumbling toward the gates. Though as we neared the gates my vision blurred, I looked down when I finally felt a strange wetness on my chest, as I glanced down I saw black at the edge of my vision and then finally saw the reason. A large jagged hole had been opened in my chest as the crack of a rifle sounded in the distance, unleashing a tide of crimson, then as my feet failed and I crumpled to the dirt, I saw a group of blurry figures running toward me, then everything went black..


	5. Chapter 4 (Useful Gifts)

Chapter 4.

My head was buzzing, it felt like I was being nailed over the head with a hammer, that noise is just making it worse. Wait, what is that noise, I began to wonder as the slight beeping continued on, it sounded sort of like the heart monitor in a ho- My eyes flashed open to expose the room to me. glancing around I noticed the posters and other things on the wall, the pre-dawn light just barely showing me what some of them said. but the most important thing was that over in the corner of the room was a figure covered by a digital camo blanket. "huh, guess Jon got me here just in time." I said aloud, before licking my lips, going for so long without talking seemed to have left my mouth dry as the sand I arrived in.

I don't know how long I sat there, just watching out the window as the sun began to rise, I decided I'd rested enough and pulled back the covers, I winced as the IV needle was yanked out of my arm, and when I moved my hand to where the large hole had been, I found it had almost completely healed in the time I had been out. so I removed the bandages entirely leaving myself in nothing more than my BDU pants, and my boots. When I thought I could handle it, I grabbed hold of the edge of the bed, using it to steady myself as I pushed off the bed, almost losing my balance before I managed to get it back. It took me awhile, but I slowly built up the strength in my legs before glancing out the window again,. This time the sun had risen entirely as it shone through the glass/ The heat seemed to give me the much needed energy I needed, then I sat on the edge of the bed, watching the city through the window.

The city truly was breathtakingly beautiful in the morning sun. If I had an apartment with a view like this I'd be content to say the least. Suddenly a small flash of light from one of the opposite rooftops caught my attention, someone was up there and, wait. I glanced down and saw a small red dot on my chest, instantly I dropped to the ground just as the round ripped through the window, the rifle echoing slightly as the sound of the shot reached my ears. I glanced over to see Jon looking around sleepily before I yelled. "Jon quick, take cover!" He shot me a look before diving behind the cover of the wall, then yelled back. "Ryan, what's going on?" I just peered around the corner of the window, barely missing the round as it clipped the remains of the glass window. "There's a sniper on the opposite side of the street, rooftop I think!"

I glanced over again, as yet another round slammed into the wall, we need to get out of here. I shot a quick glance at Jon, seeing him still in the same spot. "Jon, when I say go, we run for the door. Anything we can use for evac?" he just looked back at me, a slight grin crossed his face. "Yea, I've got something" he said peeking out again, almost losing his head to another of the precision shots. "Okay, three, two, one, GO!" I yelled as I sprinted for the door. Almost immediately I felt rounds slam into the floor behind me as the sniper tried to hit me, but before he could make the shot I slammed into the door, falling to my knee/ I shot a look back to see Jon already clear of the door and racing for the elevators. I got up and sprinted after him. I almost didn't make it as I slid through the metal doors and into the safety of the elevator.

Once we had made it safely inside Jon flicked open a little computer on his wrist and called someone called 'Tails'. I just stared at him, hoping he actually had a way out. "So what exactly are we going to do? If we try to run, that sniper'll pick us off in no time." He just stared at me with a look that seemed to be a mix of excitement and preparation, I wondered what for though? Then the door to the elevator opened and revealed the reason for that look. "Wow, is that a.." I began, but he cut me off. "Yes, yes it is," he said smiling. "Oh and Ryan, your shooting." he added, then it was my turn to grin.

I pulled back the handle to chamber a round, I felt the satisfying 'click' as the weapon armed. I set the sights on the door and called out "Ready to rock bro!" before turning the gun to the sloped back end of the M1025 High Mobility Multipurpose Utility Vehicle or as its more commonly called, the HUMMVE. Jon yelled back. "Hey, put on the armor and helmet too. Might keep you a bit safer!" I looked at him in surprise before I noticed the Kevlar vest and ballistic helmet by my feet, and took as little time as possible in tossing it on, before yelling again. "All set, lets roll before that sniper figures out what were up to!" the only response I got to my words was the spinning of tires and the hearty growl of the powerful diesel engine under the hood.

It was a huge difference to the jeep I found when I first woke up, so much sturdier with the metal walls and roof, that and the mounted gun made me feel that much better, then suddenly we were in open light, and the snipers sights, which was obvious from the start as a round ricochet off the plating of the roof next to me. "Well, here we go." I said as I turned the gun to where the shot seemed to have originated from..


	6. Chapter 5 (new tools, new job)

Chapter 5.

(Two hours after hospital attack.)

As the Humvee pulled through the shining chain-link gate, I glanced back at the city in the distance, Mobotropolis. After we'd gotten out of the hospital it became painfully obvious that there was only one sniper, but that whoever the shooter was, definitely had talent. I winced as another small twinge of pain echoed across my chest; right beneath the cratered vest were likely a large number of welts and bruises, all parting gifts from that un-named rifleman. The surface of the road seemed to level out as soon as we cleared the gate. At first I thought it was just the road, but then I realized it wasn't a road we were driving across, but a runway. I shot a look at John and he glanced back at me before calling out. "After I woke up here I found my Kindle in a box with these clothes," he said as he motioned to the arctic camo uniform with his left hand. "The Freedom Fighters found me after I almost walked straight into an Eggbot, if it hadn't been for Tails I might not have even made it to the outskirts," he finished as his gaze flashed back to the service road along the runway.

I was still wondering why we were at this strange looking base, when a slight screeching sound began to echo in my ears. It felt like something I should know, but at the same time shouldn't. As the sound grew louder and louder, I began to glance nervously at John, who in turn just gave me a strangely calm stare in return. Finally the sound seemed to jump as a large silver dart slid across the runway. The sound of breaks and the roar of what had to be a jet engine slowed as it came to a halt on the far end of the tarmac. It was at that moment that I knew what was rolling off the solid black carpet. The shape of the wings, the duel tail, even the golden one-way canopy above the pilots seat told me exactly what it was.

As the jet stopped in front of one of the three hangers, I could tell that john was holding out on me. The Humvee pulled up right next to the hanger as the jet, which I now recognized as the trademark interceptor of the US air force, the F-22 Raptor interceptor. I had to know what a plane like that was doing here, and more importantly who was flying it. As the cockpit started to open I turned to John and asked him. "John, who's plane is this, and what exactly are we doing on this base?" He just looked back at me and replied. "Well this plane belongs to a friend of mine, and I should think I'd be allowed on my own base." I started to reply when a soft thud interrupted me, I glanced over to the plane and saw the pilot without his helmet.

It was obvious who he was, the elongated muzzle, the sharp ears, the brown and black color pattern made the German shepherd pretty hard to mistake for anything else, but when he spoke I swore that my face had simply frozen in a show of shock and surprise. "Gutten Tag Ryan, glad you finally woke up", he said with a slight grin. It took me a few moments to compose myself again, but even then all I managed was to say the name of a friend who had known me for some time. "Leo? how the hell did you get here!" I yelled out still slightly shocked at my friend's sudden appearance.

He glanced over at John who simply nodded to him before he started. "I guess you might remember what your brother said about the school being destroyed." He stopped for a moment, sadness flickering through his gaze before continuing. "I was there when the men took over, I watched them slaughter teachers and students, and finally when they decided to go out with a bang," he finished, a grim yet thoughtful grin flashed across his muzzle. "Anyway, I woke up here and found myself some clothes and eventually found your brother there" he said as he pointed over at John, still seated in the Humvee. Then John smiled and said. "Yea, but if it hadn't been for Nichole, we'd be stuck sleeping on the sidewalk."

I glanced over at him, slightly confused before asking. "Who's Nichole?" he simply looked over to a patch of ground next to him as the ground started to rise, I looked on as it changed from concrete to some kind of shiny silver-like liquid which quickly took a humanoid shape, then details began to appear, a short tail, long ears, and finally fur. I watched this thing change, unsure of what to do, when it finally stopped. To say I was shocked would be an understatement, for standing in front of me was what I thought to be some kind of Lynx, however John didn't say anything other than. "Hey Nichole, guess you're here to meet my brother," to which 'Nichole' simply nodded, smiling warmly.

My mind was still trying to process what had just happened when she spoke, "So your Ryan, I've been looking forward to speaking with you for awhile now" she said, but before I could ask, she said something rather shocking. "Leo, I'm detecting several unknown aircraft approaching from the south, they appear to be coming fr-" she stopped as Leo interrupted her. "Robotropolis." he growled, Nichole simply nodded as he hopped up onto the ladder, pulling himself into the cockpit. I turned to John but he was already on his feet and running toward a small bunker-like structure, I turned and sprinted after him as Leo taxied out of the hanger. "John, what's going on?" I called out as he stopped at the door. He simply said. "Eggmans launched another attack, so we need to gear up." as he pulled to large steel door open, revealing a small armory.

He ran in, grabbing his SMG off the wall as I grabbed two pistols and a shining M14 off the wall near the door. I tossed on some of the armor from the shelves and loaded the pouches with mags of 9x18 and some special rounds for the rifle. I quickly dashed back to the door as the Humvee pulled up. Instead of opening the door I just hopped up on top of the truck and jumped in behind the gun, pulling back the lever and loading a round, I grinned. "Alright, lets go." I called out as the Humvee tore out from the runway and out the gate, back to war and all its glory...


	7. Chapter 6 (Hero Rising)

Chapter 6.

_**(This is the first time I'm using multiple POV's in my story, hope it makes things a little bit more interesting. R&amp;R, cause your opinion matters.)**_

(20 minutes later, inside Mobotropolis.)

Tails was struggling as he battled both the Eggbot, and his own exhaustion. the rest of the freedom fighters were holding their own, but only just. Tails ducked down as another bot grabbed at him, snagging some of his golden fur instead of him, he knew that he couldn't win as the robot raised its metallic fist over its head, ready to end Tails for its master. Tails closed his eyes, waiting for the pain that never came. A few seconds ticked by as Tails opened his eyes to see the Eggbot fall, a large sparking hole going through both sides of its head. Tails simply looked at the wrecked bot at his feet wondering what had happened, when a series of cracking sounds echoed through the streets, a bot falling with every crack.

Tails didn't know exactly what had happened, but charged forward as another fox joined the fight, its Autumn red fur seeming to contrast the white and grey jacket and pants it wore, yet even that paled with what the fox fought with. Tails had never though of a mobian using a gun, other than Shadow that is, and yet here was a fox firing off dozens of bullets from the small weapon, it was truly strange indeed.

* * *

(Twenty stories above the streets, in the window of an office building.)

Ryan grinned as he watched yet another mindless Eggbot stand almost perfectly still as the M14 kicked up in his hands again before falling in a pile of sparking scrap. "Another one bites the dust." I muttered into my headset, grinning slightly as I sighted up another, I almost laughed as it just stopped right in the center of the street, perfect. I eased my finger on the trigger, pulling back in a quick pinch sending yet another round down to the virtual shooting gallery below.

I lowered the rifle from my shoulder and glanced skyward, smiling as I saw a burning pile of junk fall into the streets, crushing a group of eggbots as it smashed into the pavement below. I just watched as the Egg fighters killer raced off after another one, ending in a similar way, I reached up to the headset with my open left hand, toggling the radio on. "Hey Leo, how's it looking up there?" I asked glancing up at the sky through the shattered window.

Almost immediately the Raptor flashed by the window, the shockwave shattering the remnants of the window as two Egg fighters blew past in pursuit. Suddenly a rushed response assaulted my ears, "Oh, its fine. I'm just fighting almost ten to one up here!" he nearly screamed into the headset, catching me slightly off guard, "Okay how's it looking though?" I asked glancing out the window, watching Leo's fighter dancing across the sky, small puffs of smoke marking each fighter he sent burning to the ground.

* * *

(Somewhere around 1000-2000 ft.)

Leo twisted his head around, his neck aching as his neck popped once again. his hand pushed the control away from him as his fighter pulled into a dive, the two Egg fighters diving down after him, he turned his gaze back to the environment ahead of him. These drones were starting to bug him, but the only thing that he could do was to just blast them out of the sky, time after time.

He slightly grinned at the thought of adding more of those bots to his count, when the voice of Nichole broke the strange silence of the cockpit. "Warning, there is a large contact approaching the outskirts of the city. It is classified as a D.E.L Transport." Leo frowned, wondering what Nichole had just said. "Nichole, what is the D.E-" He started before a large explosion shook his Raptor, forcing his head against the headrest.

"Nichole what the hell was that?" He called out as he shook his head, trying to clear his blurred vision. "It appeared to be a projectile based anti-aircraft shell, designed for high-speed aircraft." She replied as Leo tried to wrap his mind around what she had just said. "You mean they just used a Flak shell on my plane?" He growled, his anger building as she replied in her normal, somewhat flat voice. "Yes, if that is the term you use for that type of ordinance, then you are correct." Leo's face seemed to change from anger to confusion as he tried to figure out what to do, finally he gave up and asked Nichole. "Uh Nichole, how do I-" He began before Nichole interrupted him. "Knock out the Transports onboard weapons systems?" Leaving Leo slightly stumped. "Um yea, so what do I do?" She told him, and all he could do was furrow his brow slightly growl as he turned the fighter towards the Transport, and gunned the afterburners.

* * *

(Back to Ryan)

I glanced around as my hand unclipped the line from my waist, the quick rope down had been as the name suggests, quick. As I moved my hand away from the now useless line I heard the sound of Leo's Raptor fly over, followed by what seemed like a handful of explosion. Curious I shot a glance up and tracked his jet with my eyes, surprised to see large explosions of black smoke erupting all around him.

Once i saw the flashes of flame explode from his plane, I knew he was in trouble. I immediately clicked the headset on, keying in on Leo's helmet Comm. "Leo, what going on up there, it looks like your being shot up!" I nearly yelled into the comm, only to be answered by static. Concerned i turned my gaze back to the fighter as another ship emerged from behind one of the city's High-rises, it was massive easily dwarfing the Raptor. But what confused me the most was the wounded interceptor turned to face this behemoth, guns and missiles blaring.

I reached up to the comm again, choosing to broadcast on an open channel. "Leo, can you hear me Leo!" I called into the headset, getting nothing from the fighter as it blasted towards the ship, dodging tracers and small flashes of some kind of AAA fire, I clicked the comm again as the fighter lined up on the front of the ship, and a rather obvious bridge-like structure. I winced as I saw one of the flashes strike the Raptor, knocking it aside in the air as a fire broke out on its left-wing. "Leo, if you can hear me, get out of there. Your on fire!" I called out as the fighter closed on the ship, 'in a few more seconds he'd either hit it or pull up, but with that wing damaged..' i thought as my eyes widened in realization.

"Leo, eject! Do you hear me Leo, get out of there, eject!" I screamed, my voice somewhat frantic as the fighter impacted with the ship, engulfing what must have been the bridge. As if on que the ship began to wobble and move off, as if its control was cut abruptly. But i wasn't focused on the ship as my eyes locked onto the one thing I had hoped for, a small cloth-like half-circle was rapidly descending, a grey cloaked figure strung below it. I wasn't sure if it was even him at first, until the radio crackled to life. "Dont worry Ryan, it'll take more than that to kill me."

As i let out a sigh of relief I felt a sudden rush of happiness from all around me, and realised that the citizens had rushed the street, some glad that the battle was won, and others hoping it was the end, but all were curious about the strange fox with the clothing that oddly seemed like the forest floor, and the weapons of G.U.N in his hands.

At first no-one knew what to say, until red and white wolf called out from the crowd. "Who are you?" I simply looked out in the direction the voice had come from and smiled, "Snips, Snips the Fox." and with that, the crowd began to bombard me with questions, this was going to be a long day...

_**(Authors Note: Keep in mind everyone that anything that shares the name of any person, place, or real life thing is either there because i put it there on purpose, or purly by coincidence. None of the events mentioned in this story are true, and hopefully never will come to pass. R&amp;R and comment on the forums. Forum Link: myforums/Snipthewolf/5681088/)**_


	8. Chapter 7 (In the GUN's sights)

(Twenty or so minutes after the first questions.)

I frowned slightly as yet another citizen asked who I was I almost didn't hear her over the constant stream of questions that was flowing my way. I almost considered trying to call Leo or Jon, both of whom I have yet to hear from, when suddenly a man in the crowd fired a handgun straight up, startling the civilians and bringing my full attention to him, when finally a gruff southern voice spoke up. "Well what have we here, a no good thieving fox!" I turned to the source and held my breath as a group of men pushed through the still shocked crowd, the only difference I could see, however, was the most troubling, they were human.

The whole thing yelled 'trap' but I couldn't help but calling back at the obvious leader of the group was dressed in some kind of black fatigues with a matching black beret, both of which were emblazoned with a bright star with a white 'G' in the center. I guess an insignia? I shook my head slightly, glaring at the man asking "Who are you calling a 'thief'?" I asked, adding a spectacular amount of venom to the term Thief.

The officer just laughed at my comment, as if it were a joke between friends, before motioning to his men. "Try and take him down, but get our weapons back. No thei-" he began as I beat him to the punch, turning on my heels and dashing through the crowd, the black armored half-wits in pursuit. As I rounded the corner I felt my wrist buzz slightly and looked down as Jon's face came up on my wrist comm. "Ryan wha-" he began as I ducked under a bit of rubble. "Jon I need help, some humans are after me for some reason, I need to get out of here now!" I nearly screamed into the communicator as I felt a rubber bullet go over my head, or at least what I thought was a rubber round as hit the wall ahead of me, digging out a chunk of concrete ahead of me. As I felt more rounds echo around me, I turned yet another corner and almost ran down the golden colored fox on the other side. "Ah, my foot!" I called out in pain as my leg struck the ground, the fox just looked at me for a moment before I drew one of the handguns from my hip, taking aim at the corner I just came around.

The fox just stared at me for a moment before whispering. "What's going on, are you being chased by someone?" he asked with a twinge of curiosity right as the men chasing me cleared the corner. I just managed to get a shot off as an even larger round struck the wall near the men, forcing them to retreat to the relative safety of the wall, glancing back over my shoulder. I spotted Jon's HUMVEE, with Leo manning the fifty on the trucks roof. Suddenly the door slammed open and Jon came running across to me before he took a hold of my arms, and half dragged, half carried me to the now open back seat when another fusillade of rounds flew over us, striking the concrete building, again distracting me from the fact my other arm was being dragged.

The young golden fox helped Jon load me into the HUMVEE as the men charged again, but just barely missed us as a few rounds bounced off the back of the truck, and within minutes we were out of the city and heading back to the base. I still wondered though, who were those men? Why did they try to kill me, and what are they going to do now? These questions passed through my mind many a time before I realized we were on the outside of the city, and a quick glance around the interior showed most of us had made it out with scrapes and bruises.

Suddenly Jon held his hand up to a small communicator in his right ear, a grin growing on his muzzle as he turned to look at me. "So Ryan, what do you think about owning a plane?" h asked, causing me to stare at him as if I had been given a pile of cash. "Depends on the type", I said, trying to play it cool as his smile increased. "Well a company in the city just offered us any type of aircraft we can come up with, apparently they think of Leo's little ramming escapade as a call out for a new plane" he said glancing over at Leo, who in turn just stared back, a glint of excitement glowing in his eyes. I just watched them pass a look between each other before asking. "So I guess you already decided on the planes then?" As they both turned back to me, a smile lighting both of their faces. "Yep, and we know how you loved the classics, so we decided to go for something along those lines."

I just decided to watch the scenery outside while Jon went back to driving and Leo fell asleep, 'I still wondered what they meant by Classic, and what was so important that it had both of them exited?' I shook my head slightly, 'whatever it was might take days or months even.' I sat back in the padded seat, letting my mind wander. 'I've got time.' as I closed my eyes, not really knowing how wrong I was...

_**(To those of you who are wondering, the cherry red fox WILL make an appearance soon, she's just out of Snips mind at the time and is actually closer then most of you would think.)**_


	9. Chapter 8

(Three weeks after the battle in Mobotropolis.)

As I sat on the large brown comforter I couldn't help but think of everything that had happened in the time I'd been here, from waking up and being attacked, to being shot twice by what I guess must be an assassin. I shook my head slightly laying back on the plush white pillow.

I don't know how long I laid there, but eventually I heard a click as the door to my room opened and Leo's voice called out for me to meet him and the rest of our 'little' group in hanger four, so I got up and slipped into my new clothes, the new tan pants, matching light boots, and a lightweight leather Bomber jacket. I got up off the bed and grabbed my new crimson beret off the nightstand, and put it on before opening the door and walking into a soaking downpour.

I glanced out from under the low tin canopy over the door, the rain an endless torrent of water striking metal. the rain hadn't been anything new to me however, this storm had lasted for over three days and seemed to have no reason to let up yet. I slipped on the beret and started off at a sprint, the wind and rain striking me like a truck as I held my hand over my eyes, the hanger barely visible through the squall.

I moved my hand away as I walked through the massive double doors of the dull green hanger, marveling at the size of the large two story high aircraft hanger, I took note of the small crowd near a set of tables and rows of chairs in the center of the hanger and made my way through the crowd. The whole group of assembled men and women were all from varying species, some in pilots garb, some in infantries camo, and still others in their normal clothes, but all seemed to have been soaked by the storm outside.

After the battle in the city, more then a few of the citizens had decided that if some 'normal' people like us could fight, then so could they. I noticed a few turn my way as I passed, some with looks of equality, others looking at me like some kind of hero, finally I made it to the tables and overheard Jon say something about the new aircraft arriving soon before they turned to me.

"Ryan, its about time you showed up, the trucks will be here any minu-" he began as the sound of a metal chain rang out, dragging the back the two large hanger doors, making just enough room for two large flatbed trucks both the cargo of both covered by large grey tarps. I turned to look at Jon, but he was already on the move, I sprinted over to his side as the driver of the truck opened the driver side door. I could have sworn my heart skipped a beat, as out of the cab came a very familiar fox, her cherry red fur brightly contrasted against an olive drab jumpsuit, a somewhat playful smile on her muzzle. "Well, its nice to see you again Jon, and this must be my 'savior'? she said, glaring at me. "you, owe me a house." she said, a slight smirk on her face. "Well I didn't blow that house apart, that was all Eggman!" I yelled out rather dramatically, raising my hands up innocently.

she just rolled her eyes, before looking back at her truck as some of the new guys pulled off the tarp, revealing a twin tailed monster of a fighter, two engines just in front, and above the tail, the dull green wings laying at its side, the bottom covered in weapon mounts, I glanced over at Jon, "I'm really starting to question your idea of the term 'Classic'." I said as he just smiled, seemingly ignoring my comment as he walked off to speak to a team of men in overalls and tool belts.

I just shook my head, my gaze returning to the giant single-seater. "So, Warthogs?" I asked turning to the cherry vixen, who just stared back with a look of slight excitement. "Yea, and its all thanks to that 'fur ball' over there." she said, I slight smile on her muzzle as she pointed to Jon as he directed the engineering team in assembling the first fighter.

I nodded acceptingly as I turned back and half walked- half jogged back to my hut, my hand above my eyes as the rain continued to pour down as hard as ever, I reached for the doorknob and pulled the door open, quickly ducking through I nearly slammed it. I leaned back against the door thinking. 'So much has changed.' I shook my head, striping off the soaked jacket and settleing onto the small cushioned couch before turning on the TV wondering what shows were on, and for the next few minutes I just surfed.

I was nearly ready to turn the TV off when I stumbled onto a documentery about G.U.N and how they came to be, and sat back on the couch. "this better be good." I thought aloud as I got comfortable and watched the show...

_**(I know that this wasn't as long, or as action packed as the last few chapters, and I apologize for taking so long, but I'm not very good at making chapters with little action or surprises in them, so if anyone wants to help me out, or propose some OC's for me to use, message me. Now I'll say this now, I wont be showing how my guy learned to fly the fighter (Technically how I did, lots of simulator games) but I promise the next chapter will be 'interesting' to say the least. thanks for reading this and R&amp;R)**_


	10. Chapter 9 (A storm is brewing)

_**(Written with a large amount of assistance from my dearest brother, who the persona of Jon is based on)**_

**(One week after completing training, so around three weeks later.)**

I lowered the rifle off my shoulder, glaring at the target marker before bringing the rifle back to my shoulder, firing off a three round burst from the M16 before lowering the rifle again, this time placing it on the table beside me before looking back at one of the new guys.

the man looked like a midnight black cat, and the woodland fatigues he wore seemed slightly baggy. but his hands never shook as he fired the pistol in his hands, and I watched approvingly as each round slammed home, he just glanced over at me with a slight smirk on his face when a beeping sound turned my attention to a small black screen on wrist, the wristcomm flickered to light and Jon's worried face took over the screen.

"Ryan we have a problem up here, on-" he began when a male voice off-screen called out in an exited tone, sending Jon's expression to one of horror. "Sound the alarm, hurry!" he yelled at the source of the voice before turning back to me, "Get your plane in the air, quickly!" he spoke in a quickened tone before the channel went dead.

I immediately took off at a sprint, making it to the door just as a loud siren began across the base, sending around a dozen pilots scrambling out of their various activity's and towards their Warthogs, suddenly the sound of an engine screamed over me as an A-10 trailing smoke went right over me, smashing into the concrete and sliding to a halt near the ATC Tower, before two more planes streaked past.

The planes design reminded me of a Russian SU-25, but the paint was different, it was red on the sides with black belly and yellow covering the area between the black and red, I nearly stopped as the planes turned back on a course for the grounded planes, I could only watch in horror as a series of rockets blasted away from the first plane, slamming into a unmanned A-10, consuming it in a maelstrom of debris as it was reduced to a burnt out wreck.

the second however, continued over the planes, heading right at me. I turned an started to run as the sound of a rocket streaked over me, instinctively I dropped to the ground as the rocket shrieked over my head. I looked up as the planes past and rushed my hanger, there was only one thing I could do. 'And its what I do best.' I thought as I turned the edge of the hanger and ran in.

**(two minutes later, in the ATC Tower.)**

* * *

Jon looked around at the staff dashing for cover, some running for the stairs, yet he remained calm in the raging storm. he watched as the fighters came around for another run, lunging down the stairs only seconds before the rockets struck the glass coated control center, cratering the entire control room. Jon shook his head as the shockwave swam over him in a wave, nearly being forced off his feet and into the ground, catching himself however near the bottom of the stairs, his head raising up to stare off at the doors he was quickly approaching, as soon as he reached the doors he heard an unmistakable sound, and upon throwing open the doors, saw a single warthog rise into the air, he grit his teeth in frustration, knowing only one soul was stupid enough to consider such an action alone, yelling out in utter frustration after a moment "Ryan, you fucking idiot!"

he shook his head angrily before turning to the personnel and wounded being moved or carried out of the tower, gritting his teeth in frustration before yelling out loudly to the multiple teams and wounded staff "I want ground teams bringing out our fighters, get the wounded to the Triage center! Pilots to the fighters, any non-important personnel get off the airstrip and into cover!" running to one of the many hangars across open ground, moving between the many teams and wounded, staring up into the sky as he would scan the horizon, staying cautious of another airstrike.

moving swiftly and quickly across the ground, his booted feet slamming into the ground with a faint smacking sound for each footfall, his white Arctic Camouflaged jumpsuit clearly contrasting his figure against the drab blacktop he was moving across, his hands moving to secure his normal pilots belt and jacket, one of his few prized possessions, a thin yet serrated switch blade knife, would find it's way into his right hand, he would look down at the weapon which he had nearly lost after the air strike on the tower, sliding it into his belt in a carefully concealed slot on the right side of his belt, his radio blaring to life as staticed voices would make themselves heard, though he would ignore them, continuing his full out sprint on the way towards the hangars, ground teams slowly retrieving and moving out the remaining Jets, some few others seen cratered along the hangars, burning and destroyed, fire control teams moving to control the blazes

He would soon make his way to one of the few Jet fighters along the ground of the strip, already the ground teams would seem to have prepared for his arrival, a separate ladder prepared for him to step up as he would do so, gripping the ladder with his right and left hand, moving up he would take a offered helmet from one of the crews, sliding it over and onto his head, sliding down the darkened black HUD/Visor, the jet top opened up as he would step in and slide down onto the single individual chair of the fighter Jet, preparing a flight check as he would look over the controls, other pilots performing similar checks as he would start up the Jet fighter, guiding it forward slowly as he would begin to Taxi it along the strip, his HUD slowly lighting up with green indicators and checks, wary of the potholes and craters on the strip as he would move to one corner of the strip, turning off onto the main strip, he would settle himself back into the padded chair before sliding the Jet into it's full engine power, quickly sliding down the strip as he would pull back on the yoke, sliding the Jet up and into the air, other fighters following suit and slowly gliding into the air alongside him, forming into their own squadrons, a Storm was brewing, and it was likely not to be held back.


	11. Chapter 10 (Callsign Shadow Lead)

**_(Again I must apologize for what happened with chapter Nine, my little brother did the editing and wrote it all in the past tense.. Sorry.)_**

(Several miles due East of the Airbase, over the Eurish Ocean)

I glanced down at my fuel readout. 'just over 82%, huh.' I thought as I kicked on the afterburners, throwing me back in my seat as my fighter kicked into high gear, I looked from the fuel to the on-board radar system I grinned under my mask before calling out over the secure channel. "This is Callsign Shadow Lead to any allied aircraft, I'm engaging the two bandits that just attacked Mobo field." Almost immediately jons voice came across the Comm, telling me to break off and rejoin the rest of the fighters.

I however didn't hear him as I clicked 'play' on the Mp3 player on my belt, immediately drowning out everything with the sound of -Primo Victoria-, I just laughed and yelled. "Man I love this song!" as I started acquiring a target lock on the closest fighter. "Come on, come ooon." I muttered until a bright red circle formed around the fighter, and I called out. "Fox-Two!" before sending one of my four Sidewinder A2A missiles screaming out in pursuit, and watched in a near giddy joy as the fighter exploded in a cloud of flaming debris, before turning my attention to the other one, which was banking hard for a distant shoreline.

I just narrowed my eyes and called out. "Oh no you don't, your not getting away from me!" as I pushed the throttle back to full, and tore off in pursuit. I glanced down at the Munitions console and checked my ammo. 'Hm.. 750 for the Vulcan, three Sidewinders, two AMRAM's. and a drop tank.' I made a mental note before turning back to the fighter as I began getting a lock. "Pfft, this is too easy!" I called out in an open channel.. then Murphy happened. (Murphy's law.)

I glanced down as a large red alert bar flashed in my face, the words -WARNING INCOMING MISSILE- Blared across my Helmets HUD as I cursed and threw my plane into a dive, while my left hand shot out an clicked the countermeasures. Almost immediately a set of fifty bright IR flares blasted out of my warthogs tail, all trying to disrupt the missile, leaving me to continue diving and breaking, until finally I saw my tormentor.

At first glance I was confused, the plane had its wings sloped forwards about halfway out from the center, and its paint job was anything but normal, it looked like a plane I had seen before, then it hit me. it was one of the best interceptors in the world, something only the Russians had. That fighter was the basis for so many 'Syfy' planes it wasn't funny. 'And now I'm being chased by it.' I realized with horror as I slammed down on the Comm, calling out. "This is Shadow Lead, I'm in over my head, anyone able to help me!?" and for a few moments I sat there, and thought. 'They'll come, I know I'll get help.' but as I continued my maneuvers it slowly dawned on me. 'They cant hear me.'

I angled toward the shore, coming in just over the water. I shot a glance at the radar, which showed not one, but TWO of these fighters closing on me, and before long I was blasting over the sands. Then I clicked the Comm again, transmitting in the open. "Alright you bastards, you may have me outnumbered and outgunned, but I'll still take you!" I yelled as I threw my fighter into a leftward roll, and opening the flaps to full, and watched as the fighter flew right past me, I grinned as I set my finger on the trigger and changed the HUD to 'un' Settings, before firing a long set of DU slugs at the bastard who tried to knock me down.

My grin went from a look of victory to one of horror as the fighter popped its flaps and did a barrel roll, sending it up, over, and then right behind me. I never had a chance to pull away as the other planes own cannon opened up, and I felt the fighter bounce as an explosion assaulted my ears, but when it finished I glanced back to see my wing was dipping, and no matter what I did it wouldn't rise. then I figured it out. 'That bitch wiped out my power plant.' as the ground drew closer.

"that's it, I'm done." I said to myself as I clicked the Comm, calling out in a voice of anger and slight fear. "Mayday Mayday this is Shadow Lead, I'm going down! Repeat, going down!" as I pulled the bright yellow and black handle, I closed my eyes as the canopy blew off, and my seat rocketed away from the crashing fighter, which within seconds exploded in a shower of red-hot steel and ceramic.

I nearly lost it when the fighter came back around, it was like that arrogant fuck was mocking me as I sat there in my chute, then I looked down and saw some kind of temple, or whatever else a big stone building in the jungle could be. 'Guess I better head that way when I hit the dirt.' I thought as my feet struck the canopy of leaves.

_**(Alright I'll cut it here due to me having to have around 1,000 words per chapter for the sake of my typing abilities getting strained around the +2000 mark, oh and Thanks to Sinbreaker for allowing what is about to happen in the next chapter to well.. happen.)**_


	12. Chapter 11 (It gets worse)

(Two or three minutes after hitting the treetops.)

I hit the ground, and lay there stunned for a moment before I sat up. "Damned chutes, why did I have to land in a bunch of tree's?" I questioned aloud before shaking my head and walking over to a flattish rock a few feet away. 'Better check what I still have.' I thought as I pulled both 9mm's from my under shoulder holsters, and placing them flat against the stone, then began emptying my pockets and placing everything down on the rock.

About five minutes latter I was putting everything but the garbage back in my pockets, and went over everything one last time in my head as I slipped the mags for my pistols into the slots on my vest. 'Okay, so I have eight fast-mags, my bowie knives, a candy bar, some gum, and my sidearms.' I finished as I grabbed the pistols up, and slid them back into their leather housings.

I shook my head slightly before noticing a slight shimmer in my vision. and muttered somewhat happier. "Well at least this VISOR tech still works." as I turned in the direction I'd seen the temple when a slight whistling sound drew my attention. 'Great, mosquito's' I thought with disdain until something struck my helmet and landed at my feet. when I glanced down I saw something metallic and went to pick it up as the whistling started again, and a knife appeared from the area ahead of me, striking the spot my hand had occupied just moments prior.

I made a grab for my pistol as yet another, and another knife seemed to materialize from the dark underbrush. "Oh screw this!" I half yelled as I turned and began sprinting away, not once did I turn back to see what was after me, but from the constant whistling it was still there. eventually the tree's began to thin out and the structure came into view, it looked like an old Aztec ruin, and if I wasn't being attacked I may have been awed, but now wasn't the time as I dashed toward a set of steps on the worn rocky building.

As I reached the steps I shot a glance over my shoulder and saw what looked like a red cat, he seemed to still have me on his mind as he reached into his coat and sent yet another dagger flying at me. 'Who is this guy, and how may of those does he have!?' I thought in a slight panic as I turned and sprinted up the steps, constantly shooting looks over my shoulder at the still closing cat. But when I reached the top I turned to face him.

I pulled out the pair of bowies from their respective sheathes on my belt and held the in front of me, 'If I'm fast enough I may be able to deflect some of those damned daggers of his.' I thought as the cat reached the top step, and slowed his approach to a casual walking speed as he glared over at me. "Alright I'm sick of this, who are you and why are you trying to kill me!" I yelled. as the cat continued watching me with a cold look before he opened his jaws to speak. "Who I am isn't important, but I'm just making sure that you disappear, so tell me **Ryan**, are you going to go down quick and quiet?" he started as a pair of nasty looking daggers appeared in his hands, while I stood there in shock. 'He knows.' I thought a in horror, 'How could he know?'

The crimson cat just smiled in a strange, twisted way. "Option two it is then." he said as he leapt forward, bringing both daggers down on mine, whereas I barely repulsed him, and brought my bowies back up in time to block a set of stabs aimed for my head. I took a step back as he continued his assault, but it seemed like he wasn't even trying, and the look of pure disgust in his eyes said he wasn't even 'truly' fighting, 'He's playing with me.' I thought as he caught the blade of his knife under mine, and flipped it out of my hand.

The look of horror flashed in my eyes for only a moment as I doubled my efforts with my remaining knife, trying vainly to keep him back, until a quick slash sent it flying as well, but then he dashed forward and I raised my fist to strike at his face, and never saw the flash of steel. All I felt was a deep pain in my chest, and when I looked down I saw it, he'd buried one of the daggers in me, then the pain came as I slumped back and he brought the second dagger to my throat. 'No.' I thought as my eyes widened, and his sick smile stuck in my head. then I did something stupid, I threw myself backwards into a small hole.

All I saw was myself falling into a pit of darkness, then I struck the glass and fell through the skylight before slamming into the ground, which was strangely soft, then I turned my head and saw something, 'a tail?' as I laid there confused a angry scream came from under me, and suddenly I was striking a wall on the far side of the room, the impact pushing the dagger deeper into my flesh and adding to my agony as I slowly began to lose myself, and succumb to the darkness.

(Fiona's POV)

As I stood there glaring at this useless lump of fur, I was hit by a sudden sense of guilt. 'He just fell through the skylight.' I thought as I glanced up at the shattered remnants of glass and iron, I almost didn't notice Doc Finitevus or Celty come in until they were taking 'him' out of the room, leaving me and Scourge to fix the skylight. "Well I hope that guys not dead." I said aloud as Scourge turned to look at me. "Why?" he asked looking somewhat puzzled, I just shook my head and said. "Cause I'm sick of doing all the heavy lifting, that's why." I said as I walked out of the room, leaving Scourge to get to 'work'.


	13. Chapter 12 (Back amoung the living)

(Two days later, inside a 'medical bay'.)

I winced slightly at the light beeping sound that was ringing in my ear before slowly opening my right eye It seemed as though someone was kind enough to dim the lights; that, or it was the middle of the night. 'Hell if I know though', I thought as I shook my head slightly, dizziness washing over me as I gripped the bedside only to collapse on the cold metal floor. "Gah.. Shit!" I half yelled, half moaned as I tried to pull myself to a sitting position.

But when I went to rise, I saw a flicker of movement above me, and the gleam of amber flicker in the dimmed light. My eyes widened in horror as everything came back to me, and I looked around for.. something. "Ah ha!" I called out, as I spotted my equipment laying on a chair a few feet away, and began to drag myself toward it, only to be met by the sudden whistling of daggers, followed by the clink of steel on steel as the daggers hit the ground around me.

I reached up with my right hand, gripping the chair with my left, and grabbed the pistol before turning around as another dagger imbedded itself in the cushioned chair behind me. I took aim at the rafters, letting loose a torrent of rounds as the amber eyes danced around the steel beams above me, when suddenly the door to my right opened and a very angry looking lynx ran in, followed by another lynx, a fox, and a green hedgehog.

The lynx just glanced at me while I continued firing, as well as displaying my 'colorful' vocabulary, before following my rounds to the amber eyes above. "Great, you again!" was all I heard her say as the cat vanished again, and she took off out the door, leaving me alone with the three strangers who all seemed rather interested in me. "What?" I asked as I struggled to my feet and reloading my pistol before shooting them a cautious glance.

The fox just kept looking at me, which was sort of weird, but at the same time nice from the looks. 'She looks nice' I thought and winked. she didn't respond, but I know she saw it, then I looked over at the hedgehog. He was just glaring at me like I'd done something to offend him, then I made the connection. 'Oh shit, did I wink at his girl?' I thought as I turned my eyes on the ly- 'Hang on?' I thought as I looked around the room before muttering. "Where'd that lynx go?" when a low toned voice muttered from behind me. "Looking for me?" which made me jump before I realized he was sitting in the seat behind me.

I just stood there dumbstruck as he leaned back and closed his eyes, a smart look on his face as he put his head back on his arms. So I just shook my head and slid the holsters on, placing them under my shoulders, then placing the pistols in both. With another glance at the fox behind me, I started slipping on my jacket when the door opened again and that other lynx walked in. 'Great, now what?' I thought as she walked up to me, it was then that I noticed her arms were made of some kind of purple metal. 'Okay this is getting weirder by the second, murderous mind reading cats, temples in the jungle, and now a cyborg. What's next, a mad scientist?' I thought as she spoke. "Hey, you alright?" I just nodded my head slightly.

"Well I guess I should ask who that crazy guy with the knives was, and if you guys know him?" I said as I looked back across the room, 'Why is she still staring?' I thought when my eyes landed on the fox, she hadn't taken her eyes off me since she came in, and I was getting nervous. The green hedgehog muttered something to her and it seemed to snap her out of it as they got into a quiet conversation, I looked back at the lynx. "I'll explain 'him' later, but right now I've got to ask, who are you, and what are you doing here?" I just scratched my neck and said. "Well that's kind of hard to explain, but the names uh, Snips." I slightly stuttered when I said my name, earning a strange look from the lynx. "As for why I'm here, I was in a fight." I started when she motioned for me to follow her. "Lets talk out here." I glanced over my shoulder as the door closed.

"Well I guess you could say Eggmans goons got the better of me this time, but I'll get back at them." I vowed looking back at her as she looked at me with a strange look, something like curiosity and pity. Then she said something that just stopped me, a cold feeling of dread running up my spine. "You were human too, weren't you?" I just turned to look at her, my right hand in on the grip of the pistol under my jacket, and asked. "How did you know, more importantly how did _he_ know?" I asked, slightly fearful that she had led me out here so that cat could jam a dagger in my back again. "Because I was human myself." She said, and I swore my heart stopped. 'She was what?!' I thought, as I stood there, mouth ajar. ' guess its not just Jon, Leo, and me.' as I tried to compose myself again, but the damage was already done as she stood there laughing at the look on my face.


	14. Chapter 13 (New pains, new gains)

_**(This is my best attempt at adding something clever or romantic in any way, I'm terrible with these parts.)**_

(Two days later, in Snips's room.)

A lot had happened in the two days I've been here, the vixen 'Fiona' has been acting rather odd around me.. or at least that's what Celty's been saying. I've started noticing it too. Sometimes I catch her staring at me, and other times I bump into her. 'Huh, if I didn't know any better, I'd say sh-' I started as the door to the room that Celty told me I could use opened, and the other lynx. 'Lightning isn't it?' I thought as he told me that Scourge was looking for me, I just hopped up and slipped into my boot. Still thinking about everything.

When I got to the door Lightning was already gone, so I just walked on, and was about to turn the corner when someone ran into me, causing me to fall on my back, and her to land on top of me. I raised my head slightly, rubbing the back of my head when I accidentally bumped noses with her.. right as a certain hedgehog came around the corner. Fiona took one look up at Scourge, her cheeks as red as her fur. while Scourge just sat there mouth ajar at the scene in front of him, and the only thing going through my mind at that point was. 'Shit.'

* * *

(27 Seconds later in Celtys room.)

Celty was just sitting on her bed, thinking about how she could help Snips find his other 'friends' whom he believed were spread across Mobius, when the sound of rapid footsteps getting closer to her door made her sit up. Just then Snips burst in and slammed the door. He started piling stuff up against it while Celty sat there utterly confused. A loud banging sounded on the other side. Snips took a step back from the door before glancing around, his wide eyes landing on Celty as he spoke one word. "Help!" at first she thought it was a joke, then a large green cannonball came barreling through the door, then it clicked and she turned to Snips. "What did you do?" she asked in a somewhat worried tone.

But before he could even utter a word a large 'Snips' shaped hole had appeared in her wall, and Scourge continued on through it, Screaming every manner of angry language his mind could conjure up. Celty just shook her head as she hopped off her bed, and casually walked over to the large hole Snips had left when he was ejected, "Dammit Scourge." she muttered as Fiona walked up beside her. She glanced over at the cherry vixen, and noticed her eyes were teared up. "Fiona, are you alright?" she asked as Fiona shook her head. "Well what's wrong?" So she told her, and as Celtys eyes widened she looked out the hole before muttering. "He'll be alright, it'll 'probably' take more than Green bean to kill him," earning a small smile from the cherry fox.

* * *

(Same time, but in the jungle nearby.)

As I sat in the tree watching Scourge run around screaming, I started thinking about Fiona. 'She seems pretty nice.' I thought as the angry green blur passed my tree for the third time. 'How did she ever end up with Scourge though?' I thought as I cast a glance down at him. 'Sure he's got the jacket, and he's got that whole 'Silver tongue', but beyond that he's got squat.' I continued as I turned to look up at the sky. 'Huh, she could do so much better, I mean. If she really wanted too.' I peered over the edge of the branch again, watching Scourge continue to run around like a kid with ADD hyped up on coffee.

I shook my head before settling in and watching the sky. 'At least I can watch for some funny clouds, or something.' I thought sounding strangely childish for once, I shook my head for a moment before looking down at the small watch Jon had picked up for me a week or two before. 'Seriously, its been an hour already?' I thought in confusion. I just turned my face skyward again, my thoughts turning from Fiona and Scourge, to the planes that caused me to end up here in the first place, and then of that insane crimson cat.

As if the mere thought of him called him, he appeared on the branch above me, I just sat there and stared as he raised his hand, and pointed up. His face was twisted in a cruel smile as he simply retreated to the shadows of the tree, just as a loud sound began to echo around me until the sound of rotor blades filled the jungle air. Suddenly a shadow engulfed me, and a large grey helicopter passed over me, before slowing to a hover over a nearby clearing.

'Okay, now what?' I thought as I steadied myself on the branch before hopping to an adjacent one, and continuing until I had the helicopter in sight. As I looked up at it, I noticed a large drawing of a bloodied knife on a black background, and a series of ropes coming down from a door on the side of the chopper. 'What is this, these aren't my guys?' I thought in confusion as a group of Mobians in dark grey clothing began sliding down the rope, and upon hitting the ground unshouldered an oddly familiar rifle. "Okay, what is this, and how the hell did these guys manage to find AK's?" I whispered aloud, and as if I had yelled it out, one of the newcomers, a light brown wolf, turned in my direction.

He seemed to stare at my branch for a moment before calling back to the other Mobians, who by this time were directing the helicopter to land, while others were fanning out on the other side of the clearing, rifles raised. I just shook my head and hopped down from my branch before switching into a sprint, thinking to myself. 'Okay, so we've got some armed guys in the jungle, and Scourge wants me dead.. yep, I'm screwed.' I finished as I shook my head and continued on through the dense undergrowth, and smiled when the temple came into sight over the tree's. "I Hope Fiona's alright." I thought aloud before slowing down slightly, realizing what I had meant when I said it. 'Do I actually _care_ about her?' I thought to myself, and the answer was painfully obvious 'Eh, what am I thinking. She loves Scourge, right?' I thought, but as I went over the last few days in my head the answer was getting clearer and clearer. "Maybe.." I muttered before stepping into the clearing..

* * *

(Celtys room, same time.)

As Celty sat back on her bed, she couldn't help but feel sorry for Fiona. 'She managed to fall for a guy better than Scourge, and now he's trying to kill him over jealousy.' she thought as she shook her head and glanced over at the cherry vixen, she hadn't moved from the hole since Scourge kicked Snips through the wall, and as far as she knew, they were still out there fighting. Celty laid her head back against her pillow, when a loud snapping sound echoed out from the jungle, she sat back up and looked over at Fiona, but she wasn't by the hole any more.

"Fiona?" she asked as she slipped off the bed and looked around the room before moving over to the hole. She glanced out and saw Fiona at the bottom of the temple, racing off towards a figure running in the direction of the temple. "Huh, knew it'd take more than Green bean to knock him down." she said to herself in a somewhat cheery tone, before tossing a small golden ring to the ground, not even seeming surprised as it formed a large portal before hopping into it. 'Now lets meet this 'brother' of yours.' she thought as she vanished into the warp ring, appearing on the outside of a large concrete tower, just as a certain fox opened the door.

Neither she nor Fiona had noticed the ragged line of darkly clad figures hiding in the undergrowth at the edge of the tree line.

_**(Alright I'll end it here, so what do you guys think? Scourge is pissed, Fiona is falling for someone else, Snips got punted through a wall, but who are these guys? who could they possibly be? Find out next chapter.)**_


	15. Chapter 14 (Calm before the storm)

(Unknown jungle.)

As i dashed into the clearing i slowed my speed from a quick sprint to a quick walk. My mind was abuz with thought as I tried to place these new Mobians I'd seen and I hardly realized anyone was moving towards me, until someone stopped right in front of me, a look of anger so strong in her eyes I was expecting to be thrown again until she spoke.

"Are you crazy! Do you want Scourge to kill you?" she yelled, taking me aback slightly at her anger towards me for something that had been an obvious accident, then my own anger began to rise as I spoke, my voice full of rage. "Oh so its my fault that green menace attacked me; well it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't run into you! Why the hell were you even there!" I spoke, my voice rising until it became a yell that rivaled her own.

"I was coming to talk to you, you ignorant red idiot!" She yelled again. "Well why did you want to see me, why not hang out with greenie, your always with him anyway!" I yelled, not even realizing where my meaning had gone. "Thats not true, I could hardly care about him when I ca-"

She suddenly stopped, her look going to one of panic and anxiety as she muttered. "W-when I care about.." She stuttered, my own anger waned as I realized I'd done something wrong. "Uh Fiona, I.." I stuttered, unsure how I should continue. 'Should I apologize?' I Thought as Fiona slightly shook her head, before looking up at me, her eyes holding something new in them. "Snips, look I'm sorry i snapped, I was just worried Scourge would do something.. drastic." She said, leaving me confused for a few moments before she said. "Uh, wanna go back inside? Its looking kinda iffy out here."

I glanced up at the sky, only now noticing the small clouds I had seen earlier had morphed into a massive wall of grey, and from the look of it, it was heading our way. "Yea, we should get inside," I said before starting for the entrance to the temple, only to have Fiona quicken her pace so that she was right next to me.

That's when something clicked. 'What did Fiona mean by "I care about".' I thought as we reached the main entrance to the temple. 'Could she care for someone else?' I thought as she punched in the code and led me inside.

Once we were inside Fiona took off down the hall, leaving me alone by the solid steel door. 'Hm, wonder where she's off to in such a hurry?' I wondered before turning and heading down the other hallway towards the living room.

As I continued on down the hall, I became aware of a strange feeling, like I was being watched. I shot a glance over my shoulder, and saw nothing but the same dull brown stone that this entire temple seemed to be made of. 'I'm getting paranoid.' I thought as I continued on, eventually reaching the brown wooden door of the living room and pulled it open.

As I stepped in I noticed right away that it was empty, no sign of Lightning or Scourge. 'Thank God he's still gone,' I thought as I ran across the red carpeted room to the massive black leather couch. 'Nice touch,' I thought to myself as I settled in, flicking on the TV with a small remote that had been laying on the couch cushion. Almost immediately a horrible infomercial popped onto the screen, before vanishing as I began channel surfing.

* * *

(Five minutes later.)

As I tossed the remote onto the small dark brown coffee table in front of the couch, I couldn't help but wonder why people found infomercials so interesting. 'There's too many of those damn things and nothing good to watch,' I thought as I laid my head back against the arm of the couch; my eyes hurting from all of the days' events began to close, before I finally descended into the blackness of a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

(Several hours later.)

I was awoken by the sound of the living room door being pulled open, and a series of rapid steps heading for the couch. Almost immediately a red shape came hurling over the top of the couch and landed almost right on top of me. I could feel the surprise roll off the figure as she slid off me and onto the other side of the couch before muttering. "Opps, sorry Snips I didn't see you there." I just grumbled slightly before pulling myself to a sitting position before glancing over at Fiona.

She'd changed out of her normal black shorts and top, and seemed to be wearing a pair of dark blue short-shorts and a white tank-top, and for a good five seconds all I could do was stare before mentally smacking myself. 'No no no, don't start thinking like that Ryan.' I shook my head slightly as I tore my gaze away from the somewhat attractive fox that was sitting next to me before asking. "Hey uh, wheres Lightning and the others?" My voice was somewhat sleepy, but I was quickly waking up as she responded.

"Well Lightning, Flying, and Predator went off to the Dragon Kingdom on some 'mission', Celtys gone, the Doc's off on some errand, and Scourge is still looking for you in the jungle I guess," she finished as I glanced over at her before looking down at my watch and muttering. "He must've gone pretty far if he's still looking after six hours, don't you think?" earning a small nod from her before she glanced back at me. "I've been meaning to ask, how did you end up falling through our skylight when you first got here?"

I looked back over at her before sighing and saying, "Do you really want to know, it could take awhile." She simply glanced around the empty room before stating, "I've got time." So I nodded my head and thought of where to start. "Well, I guess it really started when I was practicing with my rifle back a-" I started before she interrupted. "You use guns?" she asked bewildered before I nodded my head again. "Well, yea. Those weapons can cut through SWATbots like their nothing." I spoke, remembering my battle in the city just over a month ago.

Fiona just fixed me with a slightly concerned look before I continued. "Anyway, while I was practicing my brother called me on my wrist Comm. and told me to get my plane in the air," I managed before she interrupted again. "Why did he want you to get in the air?" she asked, and I replied. "I'm getting to that, do you want me to tell you or not?" I asked, almost breaking out in a hysterical laugh as she gave me some kind of 'pouting look' before muttering. "Yea, okay." So I continued.

**(So here's my attempt at being passive, I think I did a half decent job at least. R&amp;R.)**


End file.
